Friday, November 2, 2012

How Do You Find Professional BALANCE?

Over the past year, I've really made the effort to achieve balance between my work and personal life. And after over a decade of extreme workaholic tendencies, I've finally gotten to a place where I feel good in allowing myself time off. I work very little (if at all) on the weekends these days, and although I could still use some improvement when it comes to ending my work days at a reasonable hour during the week, I'm proud of myself for getting to this place. I used to always worry that my work would suffer if I wasn't working around the clock, but it turns out that the opposite is true.

So now that I've been able to figure that out, my current struggle is finding balance professionally. A few years ago, I ran one business, my eco-friendly clothing line. Mountains of the Moon had been my sole job for many years, and although it required very long hours, it sustained me. Unfortunately, the economy started to suffer, and it seemed to affect small, independent businesses the hardest. I watched the majority of the boutiques that carried my line go out of business and many of my fellow designers shut their doors as well. I eventually realized that I needed to find another means of income to supplement, so I started my art and greeting card line on the side. A couple of months after that, this blog came to be. And then there were three; three different business that I love equally, but that require very different tasks and, admittedly, aren't always so easy to balance.

I'll be honest - it is my clothing label, which is by far the largest operation of the three, that has suffered the most in terms of where I put my efforts. Designing and producing clothing collections is a long, complicated, and expensive process. And although I'm lucky to have a wonderful employee who has been with me for years now, it's just not possible to give Mountains of the Moon the time it truly needs to flourish while I have two other things going on that require daily attention as well. This week, as I've been finishing up the final touches on Bubby and Bean Art's 2012 holiday card collection (as seen in the image above), I've been feeling a little stressed about how to get Mountains of the Moon ready for the holiday season as well. I've had things like 'redesign MotM's website' and 're-shoot product photos' and 'design new pieces' on my list for months, but even if I break them down into smaller, more doable tasks, there are only so many hours in each day. Oh yeah, and I also do part-time freelance design work. Yes, I am all over the place.

All of this has made me wonder - if I was able to figure out how to find balance between work and play, why is it so difficult for me to find balance between my various companies as well? I've created schedules, very well organized 'to do' lists, charts, etc. I've devoted full days to each separate business, and I've tried splitting each day up as well. But ultimately, there is only so much time and brain power to distribute among them.

I know that many of my readers own multiple businesses and/or have 'day jobs' and then run daily blogs or Etsy shops in their down time. I'd love to get your input on this. What are your secrets for dividing your time between your different responsibilities in a productive way (while still allowing yourself personal time away from work)?

And those are my deep thoughts for this Friday. Make sure you give yourself some downtime this weekend! :)

19 comments:

How do I find balance between my shops? I don't. I can't even tell you how many times I have to ignore my second shop because a bunch of wedding orders came through. I'm a spaz most of the time, flitting between the two (plus school). It helps to make an elaborate to-do list with multiple categories, but even then I don't get everything done. At least I'm able to turn my brain off and enjoy some downtime, but I'd like a clone so I can run two shops without going bonkers.

Like Paige, I don't have a balance either lol! I work full-time so the weekends are really the only time I can work on my Etsy shop & blog. This week I was home because of Hurricane Sandy and even then I feel like I did not have time each day to catch up on everything I need. Fall has been very slow in my Etsy shop and it's been wrecking my brain on how much more I can do for promotion, I just can't find the time for all of it.

For me, finding downtime is the easiest. Creating pieces for my shop is fun and I consider that relaxing. Making myself photograph, list and promote is the actual work for me and it can be really hard to motivate myself.

You're right - it's way too hard! I was stretching myself so thinly and doing so many things that in total, the quality was getting lost. I ended up temporarily closing one of my businesses to concentrate on everything else. It was difficult and I felt bad for not being able to handle all the work, but in reality I was being way to hard on myself.

I've been a mountains of the moon customer since you first opened. I don't order as often as I used to but I sure hope you stay in business because it's not easy to find organic clothing that has style. I can imagine that it is quite a bit of work but you do have fans and customers who appreciate that.

To be honest, I doubt most multiple business owners can find what you're looking for. It really is that mythical unicorn that you may rarely catch a glimpse of every now and then. As long as you are happy and finding harmony in the things that you do, keep it up : )

Work/Life balance is something that women in general have struggled with for a very long time. So balance between multiple "works" is an even bigger struggle. When there is more than one form of work, there is always one that will be neglected a little bit. No matter how much planning or scheduling you do, there just isn't enough time in the day for it all. We just have to do our best to try and find what works for us. I know sometimes when I get wrapped up in something, the house is a total mess! LOL But my advice would be this: Keep doing what you're doing and try to schedule and manage each professional job the best you can. In the end (even if it takes some time), you will find the balance, that magic equation, that will click for you. It will be like when you set aside that first weekend without any work and realized that you found the balance there. And also remember that you're not alone - professional balance, just like work/life balance, is REALLY hard to find!~Kim2justByou.blogspot.com

I work full time as a copywriter but in my free time I'm also a freelance writer and try to have a daily blog (which is slowly becoming weekly). Projects that I get paid for obviously come first but I hate leaving my blog on the sidelines all of the time. I decided to split up my work spaces, and it seems to help. Obviously during the day I'm at the office but when I get home if I have freelance to do I'll go into my home office. So when it comes to my personal blog I'll either be at my dining room table or in my bed under blankets chipping away at it. So, by splitting up my work spaces, I have been able to concentrate on the task at hand a little easier. In the summer it's nice to blog outside too :) Any way, I hope that makes sense! It seems to help me a bit, and of course, I never have the television on while working because I am easily distracted. But your blog, clothes and cards are all amazing, so you're doing something right!

Melissa, I'm right there with you. It is so hard to find balance. I am a full time teacher and then I still have to figure out how to find time for my shop and blog. My blog has been suffering most lately which makes me sad. Some days I have so many card and stationery orders that need to be made that I'm up until almost 1am trying to get everything done. Eventually I know that there will be a point where I can't keep up and I'm going to have to choose what needs to be cut out. I feel as though a lot of people seem to have things together and I feel like a mess half of the time! I try to keep to do lists in a calendar planner and that helps. Then I know what my goals are for the short term just for that day. And if I finish what I needed to get done on that day then I can finally relax!

I absolutely have zero balance - I'm a full-time student, full-time mom of four, and run both a blog and an Etsy. I basically just make a calendar and write what absolutely has to be done for each. My blog gets the most attention (other than the kids, of course), but wedding season throws me off because then I have to focus on bouquets. If I see a big block of time coming up where I'll strain to fit in blogging, I'll spend a night scheduling blog posts ahead of time - that definitely helps. And, when I really need to get something done (a paper, bouquet, etc.), I'll pull from a list of bloggers I've gathered that are willing to guest post for me. ♥ I also have a regular recipe contributor on Wednesdays, so I know I can focus on something other than the blog on Wednesdays.

As a lady with a lot of stuff going on myself I totally sympathize. My thought for you is this: that there is great power in saying to the universe that your professional life is headed pretty staunchly in one direction..... that doesn't have to be just one activity but one major thrust helps I think. I used to have a women's clothing collection, a baby onesie line, and then all my aromatherapy goods on top of it. About 5 years ago when my clothing line was struggling and I was feeling too divided I made the difficult decision to walk away from sewing professionally. I sold off most of my fabric and consolidated.... I still kept my organic baby onesie line for another year or so but with the economy still struggling I couldn't get the prices I needed for them and so eventually dropped them too.Now I just work on Blissoma and even that has morphed into multiple activities to support one need.... we are rehabbing our building, running a community garden, I take design and copywriting work on the side, and write for my company blog and guest write in other spots. The main difference I feel about all the things now juggling thm is that it is a bit different (other than the design/copywriting for others) because it is feeding into the hopeful success of just one goal: Blissoma. So even though the activities are varied the thrust is the same. I hope that makes sense..... I do still work most weekends unfortunately but I try to vary the activites and the rhythym and at least sleep in, have leisurely meals, and do projects I wouldn't do during the week. Yoga at least once a week helps as well in keeping my creative center calm(er) and juiced up with energy. In closing I'd just say you can only push so many carts so bringing you attention to one can be powerful and help you get further faster. Not always easy to edit, but frequently necessary for success. Or find a way to bring on more helpers..... that is my next step both with Blissoma and the garden. Grow the results by growing contributors....Love to you and all the multipassionate folks out there!!!

As a lady with a lot of stuff going on myself I totally sympathize. My thought for you is this: that there is great power in saying to the universe that your professional life is headed pretty staunchly in one direction..... that doesn't have to be just one activity but one major thrust helps I think. I used to have a women's clothing collection, a baby onesie line, and then all my aromatherapy goods on top of it. About 5 years ago when my clothing line was struggling and I was feeling too divided I made the difficult decision to walk away from sewing professionally. I sold off most of my fabric and consolidated.... I still kept my organic baby onesie line for another year or so but with the economy still struggling I couldn't get the prices I needed for them and so eventually dropped them too.Now I just work on Blissoma and even that has morphed into multiple activities to support one need.... we are rehabbing our building, running a community garden, I take design and copywriting work on the side, and write for my company blog and guest write in other spots. The main difference I feel about all the things now juggling thm is that it is a bit different (other than the design/copywriting for others) because it is feeding into the hopeful success of just one goal: Blissoma. So even though the activities are varied the thrust is the same. I hope that makes sense..... I do still work most weekends unfortunately but I try to vary the activites and the rhythym and at least sleep in, have leisurely meals, and do projects I wouldn't do during the week. Yoga at least once a week helps as well in keeping my creative center calm(er) and juiced up with energy. In closing I'd just say you can only push so many carts so bringing you attention to one can be powerful and help you get further faster. Not always easy to edit, but frequently necessary for success. Or find a way to bring on more helpers..... that is my next step both with Blissoma and the garden. Grow the results by growing contributors....Love to you and all the multipassionate folks out there!!!

Popped in to say hi! I'm currently working on relaunching my new writing and creative living site and setting up an Etsy store while balancing my paid freelance gigs...it's hard because I live in a part of Texas that is NOT art/ writing friendly at all, so people don't see my work as work and I have to fight for every moment. I'm still trying to figure out balance and not doubting myself and dreams. Love your blog--definitely will be back!

You guys rock. Thank you for sharing your secrets of balance (and your struggles as well!). I really love when the comments on this blog becomes an open discussion between colleagues and friends. :) xo, m